This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. xc2xa7119 of Japanese Patent Application No.11-210229 filed on Jul. 26, 1999, the abstract of disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electrical connectors mounted on printed wiring boards.
2. Description of Related Art
Typically, the connector of this type has a synthetic-resin housing surrounded by a shell for shielding against electromagnetic interference. Being formed of metal, the shell also contributes to the increased strength of a connector structure.
In applications in small electronic devices such as cellular phones, the connectors of this type are required of being compact and small in height (thin design).
For accomplishing the thin design, a connector has been provided by, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Gazette No.10-270125 (1998) wherein an upper plane of an insertion space is defined by an upper plate of the shell. That is, the synthetic-resin housing includes a cut away portion, which is outlined by the shell alone.
Unfortunately, the shell is formed of a thin sheet, causing a problem that the connector may be decreased in strength. On this account, the shell is provided with reinforcement tabs which extend outwardly (laterally outward) from lower ends of lateral sides thereof along a conductive pattern on the printed wiring board and are securely soldered to the conductive pattern.
However, the connector occupies a greater area on the printed wiring board because of the reinforcement tabs projecting outwardly of the connector body as viewed in plan.
An arrangement for interconnection between the shell and the housing may be made such that the shell is formed with engagement holes in its lateral sides while lateral sides of the housing are integrally formed with resilient projections to be fitted in the engagement holes. However, adequate elastic deformation is not provided by such resilient projections of the housing because a hard synthetic resin material is selected for forming the housing. Besides, the resilient projections of the hard synthetic resin are prone to become worn or chipped due to contact with the side surfaces of the shell. This results in decreased strength of the interconnection between the shell and the housing.
On the other hand, the arrangement of the above official gazette for accomplishing the thin design has a problem that the part outlined by the shell alone may be more susceptible to deformation associated with the shell deflection. Particularly, the shell is prone to be deformed when prised by a socket connector being inserted in or removed from the insertion space.
It is an object of the invention to provide a connector for printed wiring board featuring the compact, thin design capable of ensuring the strength.
In accordance with a preferred aspect of the invention for achieving the above object, a connector for printed wiring board having an insertion space for receiving its counterpart connector comprises a connector body mounted on a printed wiring board. The connector body includes a synthetic-resin housing for retaining a plurality of contacts, and a metallic shell as an electromagnetic shield covering the housing. The housing includes a pair of side walls. The shell includes an upper plate defining a part of the insertion space. The upper plate has a pair of extensions individually extended therefrom along the corresponding side walls. The pair of extensions correspondingly include a pair of legs located within an outline of the connector body as viewed in plan. The pair of legs are extended outward on a surface of the printed wiring board and soldered to a conductive portion on the printed wiring board surface.
The aspect accomplishes the thin connector design by adopting a construction wherein a part of the insertion space is defined by the upper plate of the shell. In addition, the connector occupies a smaller area on the printed wiring board because the connector is secured to the printed wiring board by the legs of the extensions which are confined in an outline of the connector body. The outwardly extended legs provide easy repair of any solder failure found in the fabrication process.
Further, it is preferable that the pair of side walls are each formed with a recess at a lower part of an outside surface thereof, and the pair of extensions correspondingly include a pair of bent portions inwardly projected and accommodated in the corresponding recesses of the side walls. Particularly, it is more preferable when the pair of bent portions correspondingly include the pair of legs.
Since inwardly projecting bent portions with the legs are accommodated in recesses of the side walls of the housing, even the outwardly extended legs can be confined in the outline of the connector body as viewed in plan.